Light Up My World
by Ephemeral Lunatic
Summary: 'I grasp the sparkling, dancing flowers of dreams as they rain down into my hands. Let my love ring out to you like I wish it to.' :: Fic inspired by @WriteRCastle's 4th of July tweet. Nothing but fluff, Independence Day fun and Caskett hiding their relationship from everyone they know. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

_※_

_煌いて 揺らめいて_

_蒼き夢 舞い上がれ_

_いつの日か めぐり逢えて_

_繋ぎゆく この想い_

_愛しき 君__(__きみ__)__ 我__(__わたし__)_

_いつまでも 双片__(__ふたり__)__ 強く_

_Sparkle, dance, _

_send up a blue dream_

_Someday we'll meet_

_you and me, my love_

_and the feelings that connect us_

_We'll be strong together, forever_

※

"_Hanabi" (Fireworks) - Ikemono-gakari_

* * *

Normally, when your family decides that they're going to ditch you on a national holiday in favor of spending the day with their respective friends, one would feel a sense of abandonment and exclusion. Especially when you're the cool dad, the epitome of fun when it comes to festivities on the 4th of July. Barbecues, setting off fireworks (illegally but _shhhh_) and scoping out the best viewpoints for New York City's spectacular shows in the night sky? Yeah. That's his job; his forte. Has been since, well, forever. And yet, his fiery redheads have staged a mutiny against his annual holiday plans and have left him to his own devices.

"Oh, stop moping. You'll be fine," they said.

"Maybe you can call Beckett, tag along with her today instead," they said.

Yes. One can understand how a man would feel a little downhearted at this sudden revolt in his annual holiday plans, but for Richard Castle, those feelings were nowhere to be found.

Not this holiday. Not today.

No, all was going perfectly according to plan now. Just as he had intended it to, because he's a crafty little bastard when he wants to be and reverse psychology goes a long way.

As soon as his mother and daughter revealed that they were planning to spend Independence Day independently from him, he could not contain his excitement. Play the role he did, of the dejected puppy being deserted by his family, but mopey he was not. Not when the most gorgeous woman on the planet was now his partner in every sense of the word. Not when said partner was currently two blocks from his building, probably impatiently waiting for him to give her the all-clear and come on up. Which he was just about to send to her as the ladies exited his loft but, as it sometimes happens, he just couldn't help himself. He's far too giddy about tonight. About spending tonight with her.

Their first holiday together. Their first summer together. And they're spending it _together_ together.

But because he's so utterly happy and wants to share it with the world in some way, instead of calling or texting her the OK, he hurriedly pulls up his Twitter app and types out a quick tweet.

* * *

_**Alexis and Mother are spending the 4th with friends. House to myself. Maybe I'll invite someone over for some, uh... fireworks.**_

* * *

That's not too obvious, right? Simple enough to let his fans across the globe know that he's not a loser spending the holiday all alone, and vague enough to not let anyone suspect that he and his muse have been conducting a clandestine love affair since a fateful, stormy night in early May.

How could anyone suspect it, anyway? As far as the world and the people in their lives were concerned, they'd only seen one another a handful of times since she turned in her badge and quit her job. The fact of the matter, however, was a much different story. In actuality, until recently they had rarely spent a day apart, utilizing what he was beginning to pride himself on as the stealth of ninja assassins; blending in, surreptitious, undetected by the world around them.

Richard Castle and Kate Beckett are madly in love, finally consummating that love, and not a soul on Earth has any inkling about it.

It hasn't been easy, though, keeping the secret.

Because she resigned from the 12th and he can't bring her her morning coffee at work anymore, some mornings he brings it to her in Central Park, the place where she's taken to for exercise at sunrise. Sometimes he gets there early, sending her off on her run with a good-morning kiss and a promise of coffee once she's finished. Other times, he surprises her at the end point of her trek, coffee in-hand and a beaming smile that matches her own. Then there's the times when one or both of them is feeling particularly clingy and she nixes the run altogether. They go for a long, leisurely walk around Belvedere Castle instead, holding hands and stealing kisses only when absolutely certain that no one around recognizes them and could give them away.

Movie theaters have become another rendezvous point for the pair after she jokingly called for a rain check that night on his Woo-ing her with a John Woo double feature (a request that led to him kissing her hotly for the amazing pun.) At first they'd gone on a movie date to make up for the original one the had planned. Now, they run off to the movies if only for the excuse to sneak away and the relative anonymity the dark cinema provides for them in public. Between other films, they've seen The Avengers about five times now, but now when the cinema is empty enough, their attention is anywhere but on the big screen. Especially after Kate made an off-hand comment about liking Iron Man the best, leading Castle to make several comparisons between himself and Tony Stark, including a few innuendos that made her flush several crimson colors. He has since dubbed her blushes in shades of Iron Man armor red: starting with MK III's original red and moving on up from there.

Two weeks ago, they had their first close call. Kate was expecting the delivery boy with their Chinese take-out, but instead found best friend Lanie Parish rapping on the other side of her door, the medical examiner dropping by Kate's apartment unexpectedly for an impromptu girls night due to recent relationship woes with Esposito. Finding the former detective and her writer looking quite disheveled and sweaty in appearance, she just had to ask.

"Bought some new furniture." True. A single, medium-sized bookcase.

"Kate needed help with the heavy lifting." False. She carried it home from IKEA all by herself. The only thing he'd been carrying all day was her and a bottle of red.

"I wasn't sure where to put it, so we rearranged a few things." A few? Several. The couch and coffee table. Books on her staircase. Her desk. The dining room table. Her bed—twice.

Lanie, luckily enough, was preoccupied with whatever Javier-related drama she was in at that moment, that she was thoroughly convinced by the story. Needless to say, they've been much more careful since then, especially around his home. The last thing they want is his mother and daughter to find out inadvertently, even if it means one of them needing to make a few walks of shame now and then in the morning.

He's not ashamed of being with her, and Kate has made it implicitly clear on multiple occasions that she isn't ashamed to be with him either. She wants him, only him, and she's in this with him now, come what may. It still sends a shiver up his spine just thinking about it. Honestly, the change should be expected amongst their friends and family. After all, everyone close to them saw their relationship blossoming long before even they themselves did.

It's just...this new dynamic, the openness to love and be loved, the physicality and no longer keeping words or touches reserved...it's still too fresh to share. Still fragile. They're still savoring it, working on it, every single day, trying to get it all right. Having prying eyes and teasing jabs was not something either of them was looking forward to, especially early on.

And, okay, sneaking around and brushing up on his stealth skills is such a turn on for both of them.

But here they are, nearly two months in and still as unabashedly smitten and in love with each other as they ever have been, and all the people around them none the wiser. For now.

Tweet now sent off for the whole world to see, he swipes his thumb over Kate's name in his recent call list, listens as it rings and then—

"Finally," she answers breathlessly. "It's about time, Castle. I'm hot in here."

He laughs. "You're always hot. Where's 'here'?"

"Your stairwell."

"You're in the stairwell?"

"Was. Got tired of waiting. Come get the door."

The line clicks off then and with a smile plastered on his face, Castle makes his way to the foyer, swings the door open. She's on him immediately, hands fisted in his tight-fitting t-shirt, lips crashing, teeth clashing, tongues darting out to soothe. He frames her face with his palms as he gives back to her as good as he gets, her skin heated and glistening with perspiration against his fingers.

"Wow. You weren't kidding. You really are hot," he says, breaking away from her.

"Even hotter for you," she husks, voice brimming with desire. "It's been three days, Castle. Three."

He and Alexis had been spending a lot of time together in recent days marking items off their Summer Blowout List, which was severely cutting into time that was normally spent sneaking off together. The last time she'd seen him, had been when they "bumped into" each other at Central Park, Castle and his daughter on Segways, Kate seated on a park bench, perusing a new book. She gets it, father and daughter wanting to spend time together before she moves into her dorm and starts school at Columbia. She won't be resentful of his daughter, or of Castle for wanting to spend this last summer with his little girl before she's college bound, but still...the more she has of him, the more she wants him these days.

And _not_ having him lately was driving her absolutely crazy.

"I know," he breathes against her lips, then feathers a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "It was killing me, seeing you there but not being able to kiss you. To touch you."

She hums in agreement, nuzzling her nose into his as she cants further toward him.

"Have the house all to ourselves now, Castle." She grasps his hand and pulls it down to her chest, his palm resting gently over her rapidly beating heart. "So touch me."

His hands slide down to her hips then and he hoists her up, her legs hooking around his mid-section as her arms fall along his shoulders. She peppers light kisses along his neck as he kicks the door shut with his heel and carries her off to his bedroom.

Who said fireworks needed to wait until nightfall?

* * *

_Yeah. I know. I should be finishing up DFA (and I will be. It's nearly finished.), but I got home from my own holiday festivities and saw WriteRCastle's tweet about inviting _someone _over for _"uh... fireworks" _and while my brain started flailing, it conjured up this. I regret nothing. This is a three-shot, so stay tuned and let me know what you think so far, yeah?  
_


	2. Chapter 2

※

煌いて 揺らめいて

蒼き夢 舞い放つ

花 燃えゆく

Sparkle, dance,

send up a blue dream

The flowers are set alight

※

* * *

"Mm, you're right. Three days is too long."

"Way too long."

"Worth the wait though?"

Instead of answering him, she arches upward, seals his mouth with her own in a tender, loving kiss. Castle shivers above her, feels his unsteady limbs propping him above her start to sway and give way. He rolls off to the side and onto his back, chest expanding and contracting in long, deep breaths. Kate smiles, curls into him then, her naked body nestled into his side, boneless and sated. She lets her fingers dance at his jawline briefly before they trace their way down his neck and to his chest.

"For the record," she starts, catching his attention, "I can't help but see the irony in this."

"Irony in what?"

She lifts her eyes to him and he sees just a hint of sadness behind the forest green depths of her eyes. It makes his heart clench.

"I quit my job to be with you, and now you, the guy who always had all the time in the world on his hands, is now the one who's constantly busy." She sighs. "How did that happen?"

He laughs, can't help it, because it's so true. He did seemingly have all the time in the world on his hands, and for years. His lack of structure and an actual work schedule is part of the reason why he managed to end up shadowing her, becoming part of her team, her partner. He's been by her side, whether she's wanted him there or not, for the past four years, and it's now, when she finally wants nothing more than to be together, that they're being kept apart by outside sources in his life.

Her finger halts it's indeterminate scribbling on his skin and she clenches her hand into a fist, pounding down on his muscle lightly, but enough to make him utter an "_oof!_"

"It's not funny, Castle," she growls, frowning up at him, her upper lip tugged between her teeth.

"No, I know. It's not funny," he says, grasping her fist to stop the assault. "It's unfair."

She lets out a breath and he can feel her relax against him, her cheek settling back down on him, just over his heart. Her fingers unclench and she drapes her arm low across his waist, holding close to him.

"I've got that meeting next week with Black Pawn, and Alexis starts at Columbia two months from today, so she'll probably need help packing and getting settled into her dorm next month."

He lets out a sigh and hearing the somber note to his voice at the mention of his daughter leaving the nest, Kate holds him tighter, plants a soft, open-mouthed kiss to his sternum. His arm at her back tugs her closer and his lips meet her forehead in gratitude, reassurance. He's okay. It will be different, Alexis no longer living at home, but he has Kate by his side now. He'll be fine.

A minute or so passes before he continues on, tentatively.

"Book tour starts next month, too."

"Ugh," she groans, and burrows into him, as if needing to hold him there, keep him with her. "I forgot all about that."

"Yeah," he drawls. He's not looking forward to it either, being gone three weeks. It was never really an issue before, what with them always being separated throughout the summers past. Now he dreads the thought.

An idea hits him then, and he chuckles to himself at the prospect of it. She'd never go for it. Or would she?

"What?" Kate asks, eyebrow arched curiously.

"Just...thinking."

"More like scheming. I know that look. Tell me."

He ponders his words a moment, smirks, then sets them free.

"We could run away together."

"_What_?"

"I go on my book tour, but you could come with me. We'd be like Bonnie and Clyde, living life on the run. City to city, state to state."

She lifts and crawls up, hovering over him. He tugs the silk bedsheet over her backside and uses it to pull her torso down closer to him until her body rests flush against his. She arches, dips in and his lips meet hers.

"Mm, so we're outlaws now instead of ninja assassins?" she asks against his mouth, her elbows on either side of his head propping her up as her fingers twirl through his hair.

"If the shoe fits. Hey, our initials do. Bonnie and Clyde. Beckett and Castle. See? It's fate. We're meant to be."

He grins and is pleased to see a twinkle in her eye as she grins back down at him. _Meant to be._ She certainly loves the sound of that. Although...

"You do remember Bonnie and Clyde were gun-toting criminals who robbed banks, killed a bunch of cops and eventually were shot to death in their car in a hail of bullets launched by a posse of law men, right? Might not be the best pair of partners in crime to compare us to, Castle."

He blinks.

"You're kidding right? Between my charm and your haunting good looks, we'd rob the hearts of people everywhere and knock them dead just walking into a room. Who says we'd even need a gun?"

He grins at his own cleverness before adding, "And '_In a Hail of Bullets_'? Tell me that's not a sign from the universe."

Her lips purse into a compressed smile and her teeth take her bottom lip hostage as she shakes her head at him. He's grinning at her, so very pleased with himself, and she can't help it. She has to kiss that look off his adorable, smug face.

"So," she starts, pulling away from him, "say we run away together. Where would we go?"

He doesn't miss a beat: "Disneyland."

"Disneyland?"

"Yeah. West coast leg of the tour kicks off in LA, then down to San Diego. Disneyland is smack dab in the middle of both. We can get a room at the resort, spend our off-time there between the tour dates and publicity events I have to go to. What better rendezvous point than the happiest place on Earth?"

Kate muses with the idea in her head. She hasn't been to Disneyland since the fall of 1998, her freshman year of college when she and some friends headed down there from Stanford to spend a weekend in Southern California. She really wouldn't mind a trip back there, especially with the world's biggest man child. She can only imagine how fun an amusement park would be with him in tow.

"Are you sure though, Castle? There's tens of thousands of people there on any given day this time of year. Wouldn't exactly be lying low and away from the public eye when your face is going to be plastered on bus stops everywhere."

"_Bus stops_," he grumbles low under his breath as he nips at her chin and and her lips quirk up. She always loves taking jabs at his narrow fame. It drives him crazy.

"Throw on some sunglasses and mouse ears like every other tourist and we'd be hiding in plain sight," he goes on. "Especially at night. No one will spot us."

"Mouse ears? No way, Castle."

"Oh come on, it's Disneyland. You have to wear mouse ears. It's an obligation."

"No. I'm not wearing mouse ears."

"I bet you'd look sexy in them."

"In _mouse ears_? Do you have some weird vacation fantasy that involves mouse ears?" she laughs. "Should we discuss this, Castle?"

On a growl, he grips her hips firmly and rolls her over, effectively flipping their positions. She shrieks in surprise at the sudden movement, but by the time her back hits the mattress, she's laughing happily beneath him.

His face grows serious as he leans down to her, forehead to forehead, nose to nose. She quiets down, looks up at him from beneath her eyelashes.

"Come with me, Kate."

"Already did," she deadpans.

"On my book tour, you incorrigible tease."

She folds her arms around his neck and pulls his mouth to meet hers.

"I'd love to."

* * *

Hours later, after the conclusion of a very belated John Woo double feature, Castle's paying a cabbie as Kate steps out onto the sidewalk. She waits for him, and they walk the short distance down the street, making their way to the staircase that leads down into The Old Haunt. He unlocks the door swiftly, swings it open with flourish and walks in ahead of her, but she stops at the threshold, lets the door shut in front of her.

"_Really_?" she calls out.

A couple seconds later the door opens and he pokes his head back out, staring at her blankly.

"Aren't you coming?"

She gives him an _Are you kidding me right now?_ look, but he's not following.

"What?" he asks, dumbfounded.

She rolls her eyes and gestures with her head until finally it hits him and he gets it. She was expecting him to hold the door and let her in first.

"I thought you were okay with me leading. Last I checked—and believe me, I checked_ thoroughly—_you don't have a gun on you."

"And last I checked, we were on a _date_, not chasing down a murderer. Or maybe I'm mistaken and just misinterpreted everything you said earlier about cooking me dinner and showing me a good time this evening."

"Sorry, I wasn't aware you were such a stickler for old fashioned gender roles on a date."

Castle swallows hard at her frown, shifts uncomfortably and then sulks back outside, letting the door close at his back. He coughs, clearing his throat into his fist before setting his hand back on the doorknob. He turns it, shifts his hand to give the wood a little shove and then holds the door steady. Extending his free hand out to her, he gives a slight downward nod of his head in a bow.

"After you, Lady Beckett."

Her eyes roll at his attempt of a noble tone but her lips give an upward curl anyways. She sets her hand in his and he clasps it, tugging her forward gently, ushering her inside ahead of him.

"_Thank you_," she says, leveling him with another look but then she smiles, pleased.

"See, chivalry's not dead," he offers.

"No, you just have to ask for it," she quips back, sauntering away from him.

He sighs, rubs a hand at the back of his neck as he pulls the door shut behind him, feeling like an ass. When he finally chances a look back up at her, she's sitting at the edge of a dining table, her head tilted at an angle, smirking at him, amused.

"You're mean," he gruffs, and she bites her lip as he ambles up to her.

She hooks her index fingers into the belt loops of his jeans and pulls him in closer, looking up at him from beneath her lashes.

"I'm hungry."

"And grumpy."

"Then feed me."

"So bossy."

"_Castle_."

He throws his hands up in surrender and attempts to move past her, intent on the kitchen, when she tugs him back to her. He braces himself, certain he's done something else wrong but her eyes soften and she lifts up, kissing him soundly. He freezes and she slants her mouth over his, deepening the angle, a moan escaping her when his arms slowly creep up and begin to wrap around her. Then she pulls away, leaning back as his mouth seeks for hers blindly.

"I'll go grab us a couple beers, 'kay?" she says, and he nods lazily.

"'kay," he replies breathlessly, love drunk and dizzy from her kiss.

She gives him a quick peck on the mouth, then one more as his mouth goes to chase hers again, and slips away from him. Her eyes roll in amusement and she sniffs a laugh, shaking her head at him, all smiles as she walks away.

* * *

"Four years ago, did you ever think we'd be doing this?"

He's in the midst of shucking off his button down, having just lost another hand in a game of Texas Hold 'em with her. His arm gets caught in the cuff and he has to wiggle to get out of it. Kate watches him in amusement.

"Sharing a beer with you while playing strip poker in a tavern you bought? Let me think a minute—Hell no."

He frowns, but finally gets free of his shirt, tossing it into the pile of clothing they've accumulated on the floor thus far. Her pants and his jeans, her stilettos and his shoes and socks. His shirt now joins her blouse, and he realizes with their agreed upon terms to avoid a handicap and even the odds, one more loss for either of them and one will be a bare naked loser after either she takes his undershirt and boxers, or he gets her bra and panties.

"But you have to admit," Castle says, taking a quick swig from his beer before grabbing the cards she's dealt out to him. "The idea was, in the very least, tempting to you back then. Far more exciting than playing for gummi bears."

Kate barks out a laugh as she deals the flop of community cards and checks her hand.

"You're joking, right? Four years ago, I couldn't stand you."

"Plenty of people don't get along or even hate each other but still end up in bed together."

"Speaking from experience, kitten?" she says pointedly, smiling over her cards.

He gives her a glare for that and gruffs, "You know you liked me on some level. _And_ thought I was attractive."

"Mm, maybe a little bit."

"Only a little bit?"

"You had your moments," she says with a smile, reaching across the table, taking the beer from his hand and taking a draught of her own from the bottle. He can't even find it in himself to mind that she's stealing his beer, not when she's halfway to naked, oh so sexy in her intimate apparel and, most importantly, all his.

They continue the game in companionable silence until Kate deals the river and notices Castle tapping and looking quite confident with his hand.

"What is it, Ricky?" she says, gesturing to his finger with her eyes. "Got the balls for a little action, do we?"

"Oh, you would know all about that by now," he quips with a salacious grin and she smirks.

"All in, then?"

"All in."

The two of them engage in a stare down before Castle finally caves first and shows his hand: a pair of kings. Kate's poker face falls into a devious smile as he watches her, her eyes flicking down to his lips and back up again. She holds her grin with his for a heated moment but after a beat, she sighs, sets her cards back down.

"I fold."

He gapes at her.

"What?" Castle says in disbelief as she starts to reach behind herself for the clasp of her bra.

"No. No way. I saw that look on your face. Let me see your cards."

"What? No," she says, dragging the face-down cards in front of her further back across the table with an elbow.

"Kate," he warns, but she just leans back in her chair, eyes him, the hook unclasped at the back of her black, lacy confines, though she doesn't move to remove it from her body.

"What, Castle? Don't tell me you don't want your prize for winning," she husks.

"I should ask you the same thing," he says, leaning across the table to swipe his hands for her cards again, but she's quicker. She lifts them completely off the table, holding them between two fingers in front of her face.

"Hmm," she hums. "I kind of think I'm a winner no matter what in this situation, no?"

"At least let me see how bad you beat me," he pleads.

Her lips twist to the side as she gazes at him, all puppy dog eyes and knowing looks sent her direction. Finally, she relents, tosses him the cards.

A queen and an ace. With the community cards, it gives her a pair of queens, ace high.

He beat her fair and square.

"So do you want your prize for winning or not, Castle? Because if not, I'll just go get chan—"

"You are a sneaky devil."

He stands from his chair then, watching her with predatory eyes as he makes his way around the table. She crosses her arms over her chest, arches an eyebrow.

"Go on."

"You wanted me to think you beat me," he growls, stalking toward her. "You wanted me to think you threw your hand on purpose."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she says innocently.

"Don't play coy with me, sweetheart. I _know_ you."

He scoops her up from her chair, her arms instinctively winding around his neck, and he walks her back to an empty table behind them, letting her fall back onto it gently as he releases her, relieving her of her bra in the process.

"Four years. Are we ever going to be able to play a fair game of cards?" he asks, letting his hands slide down the soft skin of her torso, his thumb rubbing gentle circles into the surgical scar at her ribs on her left side. Her breath hitches in her throat at his touch and she has to suppress a moan in order to answer.

"Where's the fun in that?" she asks, eyes dark, voice unsteady, saturated with want.

Torturously slow, he relieves her of the last of her undergarments, and she gasps when he tugs on her thighs, pulls her hips to his.

"I'll show you fun. If I recall correctly, I promised you a good time tonight," he tells her, cobalt eyes now black as night. "And I'm a man of my word."

* * *

_I initially called this a two-shot, but then WriteRCastle sent out those follow-up tweets and I uh...ran with it. And got wordy. So I split this chapter up into two pieces and now you get a three-shot! I'll post the conclusion in a day or two...unless you'd like it sooner ;) Oh, and I'm getting used to the Tumblr thing more now because some friends have goaded me into it. Follow me at EphemeralLunacy, if you want to. I need more Castle-minded people to follow :)  
_


	3. Chapter 3

※

煌いて 揺らめいて

つかみゆく 幻(ゆめ)の花

あたしの手を 零れ落ちて

願うまま この想い

あなたに 鳴り渡れ

I grasp the sparkling, dancing

flowers of dreams

as they rain down into my hands

Let my love ring out to you

like I wish it to

※

* * *

At 9:15, the two of them sit together on an over-sized lounge chair amidst an array of potted trees and shrubbery in the rooftop terrace of Castle's building. Macy's 4th of July fireworks display is just minutes from starting over the Hudson and Castle is nearly buzzing with excitement and anticipation. Despite the heat of the day, the evening weather has cooled down considerably, and a slight breeze billows between the adjacent buildings, sweeping across them, rustling the leaves around them. The wisps of cool air are just enough to make goosebumps prick up on Kate's skin and send her into a shiver. She nestles back into the vee of Castle's legs, the heat of his chest warming her. Feeling her tremble, he wraps her in his arms, tucks his chin into the space between her neck and shoulder, engulfing her in all the heat he has to offer.

"Better?" he asks her, and she nods, tilting back to nuzzle his cheek with her nose, her lips brushing across he skin in thanks. He smiles, pecks at her cheek, and settles them back into the soft cushions of the chair.

Closing her eyes, Kate tilts her head back enough so that she's cheek to cheek with him and relishes in the feel of being in his arms. It's not the first time he's held her this way since they've been together. They've had more than their fair share of intimate moments—mornings, days and nights—spent tangled in the warmth of each other's embrace, and yet it still feels so exciting, so good. She can't get enough of this feeling, doesn't want to, because it's just so good. She didn't realize how much she longed for it, the extent of that longing for him, until she finally able to let him in, grasp onto his love and hold on tight.

Over the past two months, she's been more free and infinitely more happy. They've exchanged fighting words and had their squabbles over the past few years, and even just the past two months, but that's just them—par for the course for them—and she can honestly say now that she's never been happier, never seen him happier.

That in itself is all the proof she needs to know that she did the right thing; showing up at his doorstep that night, dripping wet from the sitting out in the pouring rain of the late spring thunderstorm, finally knowing what she wanted and finally wearing her heart on her sleeve.

It was the right time to dive in together, and she couldn't think of a better outcome to that first night together if she tried.

They both startle as a loud boom resonates in the not-so faraway distance, and Castle whispers, "Ooh, it's starting," into her ear, his voice so filled with boyish delight.

Starbursts of light soon illuminate the black canvas of the night sky in a pyrotechnic display of color in every shade of the spectrum. It's been years since she's been able to catch the Macy's show, either having been working or, in the case of last year, hiding out in a cabin upstate as she recuperated from her gunshot wound.

How different things are now, since then. How bright her future appears compared to how bleak her outlook on life was one year ago.

"Oh, Kate. Look! Look at that one. I love those ones," Castle says, his giddy voice pulling her from her thoughts. He lifts his hand, pointing out at a firework that bursts into a spray of sparkling gold, and expands in the appearance of a weeping willow, lingering in the sky for several seconds before finally burning out.

She finds that as beautiful as the display is, she's far more enraptured in watching the light dancing in the eyes of her partner, her love, than in the sky itself. She couldn't even begin to describe the feeling that fills her chest at the sight of him like this. So full of energy, so full of a zest for life and it's simple pleasures. Nothing can compare to it. Nothing can fill her heart as full to the brim with joy as he can.

"I love you," she murmurs into his skin, kissing his cheek, and he freezes.

"You..." he starts, but can't find the words to say further than the single syllable. The bursts of colorful light in the distance continue to explode in the distance, but the sound becomes drowned out by the hammering of his heart in his chest, the sound of his blood pounding in his ears.

Kate laces her fingers with his, tugging his hands up, resting them both over her heart. His fingers twitch in hers, grip her tighter.

"I'm not good with words, Castle, and with saying how I feel, but...I'm going to try, because you deserve to know and I want you to know, want you to hear me vocalize it. How much I care. How much you mean to me."

Castle swallows hard, his mouth gone dry.

"I love you," she whispers again, bringing up one of their intertwined hands so that she can lightly caress his cheek as she kisses him once more. His eyes fall closed as he leans into her touch.

"I'm so glad that we're here, that we made it here together," she says, lingering against his cheek.

Wordlessly, he rises a moment later, taking her with him. Once their both standing, she doesn't have to guess at his intentions, seeing the dark-eyed look on his face. She re-laces her fingers with his and he leads them across the terrace to the roof access door, back down the stairs and through the hall to the elevator. He presses the button to call the lift and they stand silent, gazing at each other with hooded eyes, hands still tightly clasped together.

The elevator arrives, the doors open, and Kate steps inside first, Castle closely behind at her heels. He slams a hand down on penthouse button, the doors close, and as the elevator begins it's descent, he crowds her into the back of the lift, their hips flush, his hands on either side of her, trapping her, preventing her from an escape that she has no intention of making in the first place. Not anymore.

"I want you," he tells her as he pins her to the back wall, his voice gravelly, impassioned.

"I gathered as much," she murmurs low in her throat, running a hand up his chest to deftly unbutton the top two buttons of his shirt as her other hand cards through his hair.

He takes her mouth, roughly at first, eliciting a moan from the both of them as their tongues glide over each other, battling for dominance. Then, his hands sliding up her sides in a soft caress, he gentles the kiss, his teeth nibbling lightly at the kiss-swollen lips he's so thoroughly ravaged over the course of the day.

"I love you, Kate."

It doesn't matter how many times she hears it, the affect is still the same. Her heart skips a beat, makes her whole body thrum. Castle continues his worship of her body, reverent as though she were a goddess, his mouth pressing gently into her skin, tongue tasting the tang of perfume, sweat and a flavor that is so distinctly her. He hits a sweet spot just at her pulse point that makes her knees weak and her head spin. He has press further against her, grip her tighter, hold her up against the wall as she herself tries not to completely lose herself before they even make it back to the loft.

The elevator slows to a stop, pings to alert their arrival, and stumbling out together, Kate clumsily walks backward with her arms folded around his neck. Castle presses on, keeping her in motion, his hands at her hips, mouth wandering from her lips to her cheek, down her neck, tongue laving at more tender exposed flesh, hitting every sensitive sweet spot at the back of her neck and along her shoulder blades that drives her wild and desperate for more.

"We're gonna miss the grand finale," she moans, but really she couldn't care, and he's unaffected, unwavering in his assault on her senses.

"I have a better one in mind," he rasps back and she feels herself sway as they continue their frantic trek down his hallway.

"Keys," she huffs out as her back hits the front door to his loft. It wouldn't be the first time they've abused the large red door in their passion and, she thinks to herself, won't be the last, either.

She stuffs her hand roughly into the front pocket of his jeans and he groans into her skin, hips bucking in reflex as she retrieves his house keys. As he continues his mouth's onslaught against her neck, she jams the key into the lock, gives it a twist, and quickly opens the door, stepping inside, Castle no more than a step behind her.

"Martha," Kate squeaks suddenly in surprise and on her word Castle balks back as if her heated flesh has scorched his satin lips.

_Shit, shit, shit._

* * *

"M-Mother," Castle stammers, then notices his daughter peeking out from the kitchen as well. "Alexis. I uh, wasn't expecting you two back so soon."

"Seriously, Dad?" the younger redhead replies with an arched eyebrow, her arms crossed over her chest.

Both of them flinch, shift uncomfortably under his daughter's scrutiny. Kate subtly swats his hand away from where it rests under her shirt, just at her hip, and goes about straightening her blouse as inconspicuously as possible. Her efforts are all in vain, as Martha sees right through it, sees everything before her eyes for what it is. She's the actress, after all. She knows a bad performance when she sees one.

"You not knowing was the whole point, kiddo," the elder woman says with a sweep of her arm towards them, "We'd have never caught you two lovebirds in the act had you been expecting us."

Kate's jaw opens and shuts with a few unformed thoughts and barely audible sounds escaping but she has no words. She turns to Castle for help but he's not fairing much better.

"Gram, they really thought they had us fooled, didn't they?" Alexis says, rolling her eyes and then grinning at her grandmother.

"Wait a minute," Castle pipes up then, finally finding his voice. "You _knew_?"

"Of course we knew, darling."

At his mother's words, the pair both give each other confused, disbelieving looks that silently scream _How?_ and _Don't look at me, Kate! _and _Well,_ _I know it wasn't _me _so_ you _screwed up somewhere, Castle!_

Martha goes on, "Honestly, Richard, that little act of yours this morning with the petulant boo-hooing over our departure," Kate turns on him again at that and Castle groans, his face finding shelter from her glare behind the palm of his hand.

"I told you before, Richard, did I not? Even a layman can spot an uninspired performance," she sing songs the last sentence and Castle can do nothing more than groan in response as he nods his head.

"Anyways," Alexis chimes in again, then sets her hands over her grandmother's shoulders, giving her a little push past the two speechless adults in the room and out the door.

"We'll leave you two to it now. We're going to watch the rest of the Macy's show from the roof. Love you, Dad."

"It was lovely to see you, Kate," Martha says animatedly as she passes them, then her voice echoes down the hallway as the door shuts behind them, "You kids have fun!"

* * *

They stand stock still for a moment, neither sure what to do or say to the other. The explosions in the sky continue on in the background and Castle finally snaps out of it, breaks the silence between them.

"I can't believe they found out. I thought we were doing so well being sneaky."

She whirls on him, disbelieving.

"Really? Your mother and daughter catch us mauling each other in the doorway and that's your takeaway here?"

She stalks away from him, slumping down on the living room couch with an exasperated breath, dropping her face into her hands.

"Looks like we're going to miss the grand finale," he pouts, following after her and sitting down beside her.

"Yeah, well...sorry, but I feel like someone just dumped a bucket of ice water on my libido."

He reaches his hand out, sets it over hers.

"Kate, I'm—"

She jerks back suddenly and he recoils.

"I'm...not mad," she assures him. "I just...I need a minute, okay? Please, Castle."

With a heavy sigh and a heavy heart, he gives her a nod and stands. Defeated, he walks to the back of the room and stands at the window, peering out at the lights in the sky. Somehow they're not as beautiful, not as exciting anymore. His shoulders slump and he leans into the window, his forehead coming into contact with the cool glass.

He shudders when suddenly he feels her arms slip up and under his from behind, her hands grasping onto his shoulders as she crowds in at his back.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," she says, resting her cheek at the middle of his shoulder blades.

"No harm done," he replies quietly, his gaze holding straight ahead.

She lifts her head at the flatness of his tone and settles her chin along his right shoulder. She hurt his feelings, she knows she did. But she can make it better again, make it right. Because she has the words now to place with the feelings, and she's capable of entrusting her words, her feelings and her heart to him now.

"I meant what I said to you earlier."

"Yeah. I know."

"It just caught me off-guard, walking in with your family there."

He turns his head to look at her. "Kate—"

"No, shut up." She stops his words with her fingers to his lips. "Don't you dare apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for. I came into this knowing that you live with your mother and daughter. You didn't do anything wrong, and it doesn't matter that we got caught or that they figured it out however long ago. Maybe it just goes to show that it's time we stop playing around in the shadows and finally let the rest of the world into the little world that we've created together."

Her fingers drop from his lips as her hand falls back to his shoulder, and he looks upon her with a soft, tender gaze. For someone who claims she's not good with words, he's always in awe of her once she finds the right ones to say.

"Are you sure?" he asks, and she nods, pulling him tighter in her backward embrace.

She presses her mouth to his neck, her lips lingering as she murmurs against his skin.

"You can shout it from the rooftops for all I care. I know I can be a handful sometimes but I love you so much, Rick, and I just want to be with you."

As if on cue, the climax of the 25 minute fireworks display bursts into action and sets the sky ablaze with color. The starbursts of light illuminate the sky and leave all of the city in a glow of red, white, and blue, Castle's living room no exception.

He slips from her arms and twists around, pulling her back into his own, then turns them both around to face the window again, and the show of lights before them.

The minute the sky turns black again and the room dims to a subtle glow, she turns in his arms, lifts up so that her mouth is just a whisper away from his ear.

"Happy 4th of July, Castle."

"Happy 4th of July, Kate."

A mischievous smile overtakes her features then and she nips his earlobe, drops her voice to a low, throaty hum.

"And don't worry," she purrs, a breathy whisper just smoldering with desire. "Maybe we can still have an encore performance tonight. At _my_ place."

"God, I love you," he rasps, wrapping her tighter in his arms. His lips smack audibly against her cheek when he kisses her and she grins as he lifts her, carries her across the room and to the front door, her head thrown back in laughter.

* * *

The following afternoon, after he's kissed Kate good-bye at her door and is sitting in a cab on his way home to challenge Alexis to a blindfolded Guitar Hero perfect score, he decides to pull up the Twitter app on his phone, check for any new tweets.

He grins when he finds that hundreds of fans have replied to his tweet yesterday, asking if he enjoyed the fireworks with that mystery 'someone' he spoke of.

Temptation unable to be resisted once again, he taps out a new tweet:

* * *

_**The Fireworks yesterday were spectacular. Thanks for asking. ; )**_

* * *

_Short epilogue to follow tomorrow. Because you guys are awesome.  
_


	4. Epilogue

Days later, Castle is startled awake by something soft but dense colliding with his head in a resounding thud. Before he rouses enough to chance a guess at what it is, the room is flooded with blinding sunlight that makes him wince and groan, the curtains on the windows pulled open wide. He shields his eyes with a hand, burrows back into his pillow and grumbles something incoherent in his discomfort when he hears quick footsteps approaching on his right.

"_Wake up._"

Oh boy. A fierce voice like that from the woman he loves, especially in the morning, never sounds very good, and most definitely does _not_ bode well for him at all.

"Kate?" he croaks tentatively, voice still rough with sleep.

"Wake._ Up_." The tone of her voice escalates in intensity, becomes even more insistent, more furious, and his mouth moves to speak again but she cuts him off, yanking on his nose. She squeezes hard and he squeals.

"_Now_, Castle."

"Ow! _Owww_! Okay! I'm up, I'm up!"

He scrambles into a sitting position in bed—_her_ bed—and stares at the woman before him. She's got a second pillow tucked under her arm (so _that's_ what it was that hit him before), her hair is still pleasantly tousled from their, erm, _activities_ the evening before, and let's be honest, she's hardly intimidating flat-footed in a black camisole with matching lace panties but somehow he's pissed her off and she's not letting him off the hook easy, of that he is certain.

And a pissed off Kate Beckett is nothing to sneeze at. Hell hath no fury. He would know.

He racks his brain, trying to think about what he could have done wrong this time. Left her toilet seat up again? No, pretty sure that's not it. Did he forget to close the lid on the shampoo and water got in the bottle? No, he showered at home before coming over last night, so that couldn't be it. Oh, but he brushed his teeth here. Did he not squeeze from the bottom of the toothpaste? That could be it. Or wait...

That detective's mind of hers is sharp, extremely perceptive, but she wouldn't be able to tell he drank milk from the carton, would she? That's just impossible. She's good, but she's not _that_ good. There's no way.

The seething look he's getting now, he's fairly certain she's seconds away from exploding and explaining why she's so angry, so he just hunches his back, sits quietly while rubbing his nose between his thumb and forefinger, and tries to get his eyes adjusted to the light. Sure enough, she's shoving something at him.

His phone.

"Delete them."

He blinks up at her.

"Huh?"

"Don't play stupid, Castle. 'Enjoy the _naked heat_'?" she recites, scowling at him.

"Oh."

"Yeah. _Oh_. Delete it, Castle."

"If I delete it now, it'll just look suspicious to my fans," he offers, but she's still looming overhead, unfazed, just as angry, if not more so.

He tries again. "These are mystery novel enthusiasts, Kate. They're really smart and they'll—"

"I don't care how suspicious it looks to your fans or what their clever little minds figure out! As if 'naked heat' wasn't obvious enough, do you know how much flack we're going to get—_I'm_ going to get—from our friends if they find out that you've been broadcasting our sex life to the whole world over the past week, but we haven't even told them yet that we're seeing each other?"

He ponders that a beat.

"But you said I could shout it from the rooftops. That you didn't care."

"God, Castle, I was exaggerating to make a point!" she says exasperatedly. "You of all people should have an appreciation for a little dramatic flair."

He grins because yeah, she's right and well, the proverbial 'shouting it from the rooftops' is a lot different from tweeting it to the entire world. She likes her privacy and being away from the limelight. He gets that. And, of course, they still haven't found the right moment to tell Lanie and boys yet.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I doubt our friends check my Twitter account," he says quietly, nonchalant, yawning even.

"That's besides the point. Delete it, Castle. I'd have done it myself already but your phone was dead and the stupid app logged you out when the battery drained."

With his adorably upset muse glaring at him from above (seriously, he was wrong before. She is beyond cute when she's flustered and pissed off at him now), he looks over his phone thoughtfully a moment after logging on to Twitter and scrolling through his timeline. Then something curious strikes him.

"Wait, if none of our friends know, how did _you _find out that I tweeted about us?"

Her entire face explodes into a crimson blush (Iron Man MK VII red, his brain supplies) and then she's throwing the pillow that was previously under her arm at his face before making her escape from the bedroom.

Too late though. He's already seen through her.

"Oh my god, you follow me on Twitter now? !"

* * *

_Thanks for all of your reviews and alerts. I really appreciate it._ _I'm half tempted to turn every future Beckett-inspired tweet that Castle throws out into a story now because it's just so fun. Let me know what you think :)_


End file.
